National – Across the India:

1. The Union Government has constituted the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DDCMC) for effective development and coordination of Central Government’s programme.

It will be known as DISHA that will monitor the implementation of 28 schemes and programmes of Union Ministry of Rural Development and other Ministries to promote synergy and convergence for greater impact.

2. The Union Railway Ministry has flagged off the maiden broad gage train service dubbed as ‘Tripura Sundari Express’ from Agartala (Tripura) to Delhi.

3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the ‘Run for Rio’, an event to encourage the Indian contingent at the 2016 Rio Olympics beginning on August 5, 2016.

The 5km run was flagged off from Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.

4. The Union Government has capped the prices of 24 essential drugs used for treatment of cancer, HIV, bacterial infections, anxiety and cardiac conditions.

The Drug pricing regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has issued an order regarding this.

5. The Supreme Court has held that former Chief Ministers are not entitled for government accommodation for lifetime.

The judgment of the apex court came on a plea filed by Uttar Pradesh-based NGO Lok Prahari which had sought a direction against allotment of government bungalows to former CMs.

6. India is going to host a crucial global summit in November to eliminate the illicit trade of tobacco products.

The summit is scheduled for November 7-12 at the Indian Exposition Mart in Noida. In this summit delegates from 180 countries will take part.

7. A high-level panel of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) has approved various projects worth approximately Rs 400 crore for development of ghats (river fronts) and crematoria at different places along the river Ganga from Uttarakhand to West Bengal under the Centre’s ambitious Namami Gange programme.

8. Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to approve sewage and waste water policy.

Under this policy, all district headquarters, heritage cities, and cities in the state which have more than one lakh population will be included.

9. The Tamil Nadu Assembly has passed an unanimous resolution that the Madras High Court be renamed as Tamil Nadu High Court and not as High Court of Chennai as proposed by the Centre.

10. West Bengal Cabinet cleared a proposal to rename the state as “Bengal” in English and “Bango” or “Bangla” in Bengali.

The other reason for changing the name of the state is that whenever there is any meeting of all states, West Bengal comes at the bottom of the list alphabetically.

11. World Economic Forum (WEF), will host its annual India Economic Summit on October 6-7 in New Delhi which would be attended by over 500 business and political leaders including top policymakers and CEOs.

12. The Parliament has approved the establishment of six new IITs across the country by passing the Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2016 in the Rajya Sabha.

These IITs will be started in Palakkad (Kerala), Goa, Dharwad (Karnataka), Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), Jammu, and Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh).

13. Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has inaugurated the three-day Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) exhibition in the Parliament premises in New Delhi.

It will showcase numerous state-of-the-art defence technologies, products, and systems developed by various DRDO laboratories indigenously.

The Court has declared The Gujarat Unreserved Economically Weaker Sections (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions in the State and of Appointments and Posts in Services under the State) Ordinance, 2016 unconstitutional.

15. The Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC), an autonomous organization under Government of India’s Ministry of Culture, has organized a 64-day-long theatre festival in Kolkata.

The festival- Kolkata Theatre Festival 2016- will showcase as many as 245 theatres of several groups at Bharatiyam Cultural Multiplex in Kolkata’s satellite town Salt Lake.

16. The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced that the Government has set the ambitious target to roll out of the Goods and Services Tax, (GST) from 1st April 2017.

31. Assam has become the first state to ratify the Goods and Services Tax Constitutional Amendment Bill.

The Centre seeks to roll-out the GST by April 1, 2017.

32. The government has an ambitious plan to lay 6,900 km of gas pipelines linking Bangladesh, Myanmar, most north-eastern states, and West Bengal.

Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) signed an agreement in April this year to jointly set up a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) terminal plant in Chittagong port city which will help pipe gas to the north-eastern states.

The centre will take up birth control measures with stray dogs the population of which has been rising in the city and the state.

49. The monogrammed suit worn by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his meeting with American President Barack Obama last year, which created huge controversy, entered Guinness Book of World Records as ‘the most expensive suit sold’.

The suit was sold at an auction for Rs 4.31 crore

50. Maharashtra became the first state in the country to draft its own internal security legislation The Maharashtra Protection of Internal Security Act (MPISA), 2016.

The act gives special emphasis on maintaining law and order and combating terrorism, insurgency, caste-related violence, and communalism in the state.

51. The Union Cabinet approved a revised Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income between India and Cyprus.

The revised DTAA provides for source-based taxation of capital gains on transfer of shares instead of one based on residence.

52. Ahmedabad, Gujarat is going to host 2016 Kabaddi World Cup between October 7 and 22, 2016.

The event will see the participation of 12 Kabaddi teams which are India, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Iran, Australia, Poland, Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Korea, Japan and Kenya.

53. The two-day meeting of Ministers of Disaster Management (MDM) of BRICS countries concluded in Udaipur, Rajasthan with the adoption of the Udaipur Declaration.

This was the second meeting and in the follow-up of the first meeting of the BRICS MDM convened by the Russia in St. Petersburg in April 2016.

54. After Goa and Delhi, Telangana has become the third state to inaugurate south India’s first Children’s Court.

was inaugurated in Hyderabad.

This court is a child-friendly court and sixth in the country with features like separate waiting rooms for children and a video camera trial for the accused, mandated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act-2012.

55. The Union Minister of State for Minority Affairs (Independent Charge) & Parliamentary Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi launched new Hindi website and updated and revamped English website of the Minority Affairs Ministry.

56. In a first-ever major overhaul, IITs across the country have blacklisted 30 companies, including 28 start-ups, for one year.

It means they can’t take part in forthcoming campus placements season.

57. The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) e-box, in New Delhi.

POCSO e-box is an online complaint management system for easy and direct reporting of sexual offences against children and timely action against offenders under POCSO Act, 2012.

58. The Union Finance Ministry has constituted 11 members high-level committee to suggest steps to promote card payments with an aim to discourage cash transactions.

The 11-member committee will be headed by Principle Adviser for social sector in NITI Aayog and former Finance Secretary Ratan P Watal.

The Japanese government expects that this package will boost gross domestic product (GDP) by 1.3%.

3. A nine-member Kathakali dance troupe has performed first time in Egypt.

The Kathakali dance troupe was a part the 14th Summer Festival organized by Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

4. Kerala Tourism has rolled out a promotional campaign in Dubai targeting Arab travellers and showcasing the state’s backwaters and waterfalls on taxis plying in the bustling metropolis, with the onset of the outbound tourism season in the Middle East.

200 Kerala-branded taxis will ferry the message of ‘A Faraway Land Four Hours Away’ – with eye-catching visuals featuring hill stations, backwaters, waterfalls and also Ayurvedic therapies – through the streets of Dubai, the throbbing heart of the UAE.

5. Union Minister for Human Resource and Development Prakash Javadekar has inaugurated the transit campus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Jammu.

6. India has approached United States (US) and select European countries part of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to crack terror fund trail details of the Al Rehmat Trust from Pakistan.

FATF is an inter‐governmental policy making body with ministerial mandate to establish international standards for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

7. India has provided One million US Dollars grant to Zimbabwe in the wake of El Nino induced drought disaster.

Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr. Misheck Sibanda thanked for the quick response by India to an international appeal made by his country

8. The first South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Youth Parliamentarians Conference on `Peace and Harmony for Development’ was held in Islamabad, Pakistan.

It was to offer young Parliamentarians’ narrative as a prelude to the 19th SAARC Summit to be hosted by Pakistan in November 2016.

9. The world’s highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge was opened to visitors in central China.

The bridge connects two mountain cliffs known as the Avatar Mountains in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province.

10. India has pledged financial assistance worth 39.97 million Nepali Rupees for the construction of a new building and a hostel facility at a Sanskrit school in eastern Nepal.

The Stor Palace is located in the Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Campus in Kabul.

It will house the Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

12. President Pranab Mukherjee launched Akashvani Maitree (Moitree) Channel and its multimedia website in the Bengali language for listeners in West Bengal, Bangladesh, and the adjoining areas.

It is an initiative of Kolkata Akashvani Kendra that will provide a platform for blending content both from India and Bangladesh and preserving Bengali culture.

13. The United States Postal Service (USPS) announced to commemorate the joyous Hindu festival of Diwali with the launch of Forever stamp.

The first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony of the Forever Stamp will take place at the Consulate General of India, New York on 5 October 2016.

14. Forbes released the list of The World’s Highest-Paid Actresses 2016.

Indian actress Deepika Padukone is the only Indian star to make the cut.

Jennifer Lawrence topped the Forbes magazine list for the second straight year with earnings of 46 million US dollars.

15. United States is going to create world’s largest protected marine reserve area named as Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off the Hawaiian coast.

It will be created by expansion of present national monument off Hawaii.

16. Pakistan is going to host the 19th SAARC Summit in Islamabad and Murree on November 9 and 10, 2016.

It will be the meeting of the head of states or head of government of the eight SAARC countries.

17. The 2016 World Risk Index (WRI) has been released.

India has been ranked 77th among the 171 countries.

The index was released as part of the World Risk Report 2016 released by the United Nations University Institute for Environment (UNUIE) and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and Bundnis Entwicklung Hilft in cooperation with the University of Stuttgart in Germany.

Sports:

1. India is going to host 2016 Kabaddi World Cup scheduled to be held in October 2016. It was announced by the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF).

In this edition of World Cup 12 international teams are going to participate.

Awards & Recognition:

1. Skydiver Luke Aikins from United States created history by becoming the first person in the world to jump from 25,000 feet (mid-tropospheric altitude) without a parachute and landing safely in a net.

With this he also set a personal and world record for the highest jump without a parachute or wing suit.

2. West Bengal has been selected for the All India Coordinated Rice Improvement Project Award 2015.

This will be the first time the state will be receiving this award.

The state was selected for this award by the 51st committee from the Indira Gandhi Krishi Bikash Kendra for its achievement in the four key areas that include scientific research for seeds.

3. Translator and artist Anita Gopalan was awarded the 2016 PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants for her English translation of Hindi novel Simsim written by Geet Chaturvedi.

She is the second Indian translator to be selected for the grant.

4. The advisory committee of the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award has decided that the 23rd Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award will be given to Shubha Mudgal.

She will be honoured for her outstanding contribution towards the promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill.

6. Renowned carnatic vocalist M. S. Subbulakshmi will be honoured at the United Nations on 15 August 2016, India’s 70th Independence Day, by a performance by A.R. Rahman at the United Nations General Assembly.

With this, A. R. Rahman will become the second Indian artist after Subbulakshmi to perform at the UN.

7. Bollywood star actors Sonam Kapoor and Nawazuddin Siddiqui bagged the best actress and best actor awards at the Indian Film Festival (IFF) of Melbourne 2016.

She had won the bronze medal in wrestling at 2016 Rio Olympics in the 58 kg category and created history by becoming the first women from India to win Olympics medal in wrestling.

25. Indian multi-national conglomerate Larsen & Toubro’s group named S N Subrahmanyan as the Managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of India’s largest infrastructure engineering company from October first.

The appointment of Subrahmanyan had then come with the then chief executive and managing director KV Venkataramanan retiring.

25. Mukesh Mehta was appointed as the President of India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA).

He is also a Director on the Board of IBJA.

26. Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group of companies, has appointed private equity firm Bain Capital’s Managing Director Amit Chandra as non-executive director.

The appointments increases the total number of the company’s board members to nine.

Economics & Banking GK:

It’s a web portal to curb illegal collection of deposits from which the members of the public would be able to obtain information regarding entities that are allowed to accept deposits, lodge complaints and also share information regarding illegal acceptance of deposits by unscrupulous entities.

2. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up a committee to look at the various facets of household finance in India and to benchmark India’s position vis-à-vis both the peer countries and advanced countries.

3. The Union Government has set an inflation target of 4 % for the next five years with a range of plus/minus 2 % for the next five years.

The target was set under the monetary policy framework agreement with the Reserve Bank.

4. Reserve Bank of India has imposed the penalty on two cooperative banks of Chhattisgarh under the Banking Regulation Act.

The Zila Sahakari Kendriya Bank Maryadit, Raipur, and Raipur Urban Mercantile Cooperative Bank Limited are the two on which RBI imposed the penalty of five lakh rupees each.

Recovery of Debts due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act (RDDBFI), 1993

Depositories Act, 1996

Indian Stamp Act, 1899

11. The Union Cabinet has given its approval for introduction of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016 to ban commercial surrogacy in the country.

It will ensure effective regulation of surrogacy, prohibit commercial surrogacy and allow ethical surrogacy to the needy infertile couples.

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU):

1. IBM in partnership with Apple has launched a new global development hub at Manyata Tech Park, Bengaluru.

The hub mainly aims to help the clients in India complete digital mobility process platform.

2. Telangana Irrigation Department has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Space Research Organisation.

The MoU was for setting up a Telangana Water Resources Information System (TWRIS) on the ‘Bhuvan’ web portal.

3. The Ministry of Railways has signed an agreement with the Chhattisgarh government for the formation of a joint venture (JV) company for focused resource mobilisation, implementation and monitoring of critical rail projects.

4. The NITI Aayog has inked a pact with US Energy Information Administration (EIA) in a step to set up a portal to host all the data related to energy sector in the country.

The web portal will host all the data related to energy sector including oil and gas, coal, solar and thermal energy etc.

5. The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and South Africa for cooperation in the field of Tourism.

6. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has signed a MoU with Defence Food Research Laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The MoU is signed for Transferring of Technology of Retort Pouch Processed Foods so that ready-to-eat food can be warmed and eaten straight out of the packet.

7. Fifth Generation Technologies, a multi-national research, and innovation company with specialization in building “real-time intelligence” solutions and products to the manufacturing industry has entered into an agreement with Anna University, Chennai.

The MoU is for conducting research to arrive at a useful prediction of the remaining life of critical equipment that is working in high-temperature environments.

8. India and Bangladesh have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Route Permit for carrying Petroleum Goods to Tripura via Bangladesh.

The MoU was signed between Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and the Roads and Highways Department of Bangladesh in Dhaka.

9. Maharashtra Government has signed an MoU with the Union Civil Aviation Ministry and Airports Authority of India (AAI) to develop 10 airports as part of the Centre’s Regional Connectivity Scheme.

10. India and Germany have signed an agreement on vocational training.

It aims to foster conditions to create and improve workplace-based vocational training in India’s industrial clusters.

11. Maharashtra and Telangana have signed an MoU for three irrigation projects to be constructed on Godavari, Pranahita and Painganga rivers.

Under the agreement, the two States would take up Tummidi Hatti, Medigadda and Chanaka-Korata irrigation projects on Godavari River and its tributaries.

12. The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the signing of an MoU between India and Myanmar in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine.

The MoU will provide structured framework for the promotion of AYUSH/Traditional Systems of Medicine in Myanmar.

13. The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing of new Air Services Agreement (ASA) between India and Fiji.

It will update the existing ASA between the two countries which was signed in January 1974.

14. An MoU between India and South Africa to establish cooperation in Grassroots Innovation.

The MoU was signed in pursuance to the Inter-Government Agreement between two countries for cooperation in Science & Technology in July 2016 at Pretoria, South Africa.

15. India and Myanmar signed four MoU to enhance cooperation and bilateral relations between the two countries.MoU on cooperation in the construction of 69 Bridges.

The agreements signed are:

MoU on cooperation in the construction of 69 Bridges.

MoU on cooperation in the construction / up gradation of the Kalewa – Yagyi Road Section.

Science & Technology:

This Doppler weather radar can provide advance information about storms, cyclones, and other severe weather conditions.

2. Chief Minister of Maharastra Government Mr. Devendra Fadnavis has stated that Maharashtra government will provide as many as 1,200 wi-fi hotspots in the megapolis as a part of transforming Mumbai into a Smart City.

3. China has successfully launched the first Tiantong satellite for mobile telecommunication at southwestern China’s Xichang Satellite Launch Center, with the Long March-3B carrier rocket.

It is the first satellite of China’s home-made satellite mobile telecom system and a key part of the country’s space information infrastructure.

4. Researchers in India for the first time have found that mice and rats exposed to endosulphan suffer from DNA damage and genomic instability, and impaired DNA damage response.

This breakthrough discovery was discovered team of researchers led by Prof. Sathees Raghavan from the Bengaluru based IISc (Department of Biochemistry).

It was launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in northern Shanxi Province on the back of a Long March 4C rocket.

It was 233rd flight mission by a Long March carrier rocket.

6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin dedicated the first unit of the ambitious Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu to the nation.

It has India’s single largest nuclear generation unit with the capacity of 1000 megawatt (MW).

7. China has successfully launched the world’s first quantum satellite.

It establishes hack-proof communications between space and the ground.

The satellite nicknamed “Micius” was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre.

8. Researchers from the Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI), Bhavanagar (Gujarat) have developed photocatalyst that can completely degrade three industrial dyes in the presence of sunlight.

This photocatalyst is able to completely degrade three industrial dyes — methyl orange, methylene blue, and reactive black-5.

9. The Union Ministry of Mines has launched a web portal for Star Rating of Major Mineral Mines with an aim to promote sustainable mining.

The online portal was developed by IBM (Indian Bureau of Mining) through NISG (National Institute of Smart Government), Hyderabad.

10. The world’s largest (longest) aircraft the Airlander 10 has embarked its maiden flight at an airfield in Cardington in central England.

It is a hybrid airship made by Hybrid Air Vehicles in the United Kingdom.

11. Chinese scientists have discovered a small molecule (new drug) named XMU-MP-1 that can regenerate tissue.

It has potential to eliminate transplants of some organs.

It was discovered by team of researchers from Xiamen University and Peking University of China.